The November meeting featured postcards from the fleet in WW1. A brisk AGM was followed by Geoff Cunnington’s talk on Grand Fleet Lives: Picturing R.N. Sailors’ Postcards in WW1. Geoff has explored postcards as a neglected primary source, not least through his remarkable personal collection. Their use reached a zenith in WW1, not least because many larger ships had their own print shops which allowed seamen to send home their own photos as cards.
The constraints of space and censorship led to creative ways of expressing and condensing their thoughts – for example by the angle at which stamps were affixed.
As an indication of the scale of the operation the Fleet Post Office at Scapa Flow handled some 50,000 postcards per day at its peak.
There was a lively question and answer session after the talk.
Geoff Cunnington is a retired company secretary with a life-long interest in naval history. He has assembled a comprehensive collection of naval themed postcards and photographs focussing principally on the Royal Navy from late Victorian times through to the First World War and the wider Dreadnought era.
The December meeting will feature Richard Blake on Manning the 18th – 19th Century Fleet – National Treasure, Social Headache, followed by Deryck Swetnam’s short talk, Researcher Beware! Intrigued? I am. See you at 2.00 PM on 9th. Please see our Events page for a full programme.